James Gurney

This daily weblog by Dinotopia creator James Gurney is for illustrators, plein-air painters, sketchers, comic artists, animators, art students, and writers. You'll find practical studio tips, insights into the making of the Dinotopia books, and first-hand reports from art schools and museums.

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or by email:gurneyjourney (at) gmail.comSorry, I can't give personal art advice or portfolio reviews. If you can, it's best to ask art questions in the blog comments.

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All images and text are copyright 2015 James Gurney and/or their respective owners. Dinotopia is a registered trademark of James Gurney. For use of text or images in traditional print media or for any commercial licensing rights, please email me for permission.

However, you can quote images or text without asking permission on your educational or non-commercial blog, website, or Facebook page as long as you give me credit and provide a link back. Students and teachers can also quote images or text for their non-commercial school activity. It's also OK to do an artistic copy of my paintings as a study exercise without asking permission.

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Last weekend at the Sarasota Chalk Festival in Venice, Florida, the theme was Extinct and Endangered Animals, and I was honored that two of the artists chose images from Dinotopia to recreate as gigantic street paintings.

Jennifer says, "The finished piece is 12’ x 12’. The white base is just kid’s washable tempera paint, to help the paint stick, with soft pastel chalks on top. I use four kinds of chalk. Your basic Koss pastels, plus Eternity Chalk, and Richeson Street Stix Pastels, and Mount Vision Pastels. The surface was not the best. It was rough and gritty, and I ripped through quite a few gloves and sponges."

Lori Escalera painted "Small Wonder." She says it was surprisingly cold and windy with a lot of distractions, but she stuck with it and did a beautiful job.

4 comments:

Thank you, James, for allowing us to recreate your wonderful art for the crowds in Venice. I have been a big fan of your work for many years, and you were so nice to work with. Part of what I love about street painting is connecting with living and working artists.

Dear James,Thank you for your willingness to collaborate this year to bring "Small Wonder" to the medium of chalk and ephemeral art! The piece was wildly successful and an appropriate "opener" for the stunning artwork that ensued on the street (Jennifer's included!). Many attendees had fun with the surprise of seeing the children amongst the extinct dinosaurs as well as were heart warmed who knew your work. They spoke very lovingly (and proudly) being familiar with the Dinotopia series. You are truly a Master Artist and it was great to get to know your work. Thank you!